To think of time—of all that retrospection!
To think of to-day, and the ages continued henceforward!
Have you guess’d you yourself would not continue?
Have you dreaded these earth-beetles?
Have you fear’d the future would be nothing to you?
Is to-day nothing? Is the beginningless past nothing?
If the future is nothing, they are just as surely nothing.
To think that the sun rose in the east! that men and women were flexible, real, alive! that everything was alive!
To think that you and I did not see, feel, think, nor bear our part!
To think that we are now here, and bear our part!
So opens the poem, To Think of Time, but the vibrant Walt Whitman. The entire piece is very worth a read. Since we've slid into the opening days of 2014(The next three months I will still be dating documents as 2013), I can't help but ruminate a bit. Which isn't bad- if the new year reminds you to ruminate, so be it. Granted, I ruminate a little too much. Writing helps me coalesce my thoughts, and gives anyone who reads a chance to call me out.
Time is a concept that has been thought about, for quite a while. There are numerous theories on what time means, how to define it, and if it even exists. I'm a history student, so I'll just comment on old texts(albeit clumsily. That's why I'm here). There are a couple old Hebrew words I looked into. First you have עת(‛êth, ayth). It's a straight-forward word. You can simply translate it as the word time, the time of an event, and so on. Then you have זמן(zmân, zem-awn). I like this one. It refers to an action that has a specific section of time set aside for it. You see the words in Ecclesiastes 3(Most of the English translations are solid):
For everything there is a season/appointed time(zmân), and a time(‛êth) for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain has the worker from his toil?
I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.
Everything I'm currently doing is meant to be of use in the future. The knowledge and skills I acquire, the experiences I have, the ideas I process from other people. Such tools are meant to be shared around me. What is the purpose of knowledge and learning if you keep it hidden? We don't need biological encyclopedias that no one can learn from, and it's truly a sad day whenever I meet scholars whose sole goal in life is to accrue knowledge for the sake of knowledge.
Where my generation fits in the grand scheme of human history is something I don't take lightly. I don't consider us exceptional in any way, in fact I reckon all generations are rather neutral denominators. The only difference between them are the tools they start out with, and the experiences left behind for the following generations. My culture is currently obsessed with continuing the way of life it has enjoyed for many decades. It is desperately trying to suck in people like me, in an attempt to continue an unsustainable system. But focusing on faults rarely produces positive results! I know I am not alone in my thoughts- hopefully I can start connecting with more people who think as I do.
All this to say, everything we do has an effect. Everything. Even if some of those causes and effects are inconsequential(case in point: I drank too much coffee today, sending me into a fifteen minute spastic fit set to bluegrass). Do you need to trek across the globe to be a part of the solution? No, though it's definitely an option! If you live in a western country, there is a ridiculous amount of opportunities for you. Look outside your sphere of knowledge and influence. You are meant for more than what is expected of you.
And now for a video of dancing peacock spiders:
Until next time.
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